A Treacherous Path
by SqueakyTheDuck
Summary: Complete! When the Huntsman finds out about Rose and Jake, he takes matters into his own hands. But it might not be what you think. Part two of a trilogy. Rated K plus for mild violence. Please R&R.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note: Ah, yes, 'A Treacherous Path', the second story in my Nightmare trilogy. And don't worry, there's a lot more going on in this story, so it will be longer than the last one.**_

_**Disclaimer: Dis is to claim dat I don't own AmDrag**_

"Whoo-Hoo!" Jake whooped as he and his three best friends burst out of Millard Fillmore Middle School. "It's not summer vacation, but it's the next best thing. Spring Break has officially started!" By an unspoken agreement, the four teens headed torwards Canal Street Electronics, whizzing down the sidewalk on their skateboards. As they passed Lomardo's Pizza(yes that's the correct name, I spotted that when I watched Hong Kong Nights), Rose veered off torwards it. "I say we celebrate with some pizza." she suggested. "I'm all for that!" Jake agreed enthusiastically. The friends bought three pizzas to go, then headed on to the shop. When they arrived at the shop, they were met by Jake's grandfather, Lao Shi. "Jake," he said. "I have decided to give you today off from dragon training." he smiled. "I figured you would want to celebrate Spring Break."

As they sat around the coffee table, they talked, just hanging out and having fun. After Spud mentioned a monkey riding a unicycle, and Jake made up a mindless rap, Trixie said, "You boys are insane." "Trixie, we do _not_ suffer from insanity," Spud objected. "We enjoy every minute of it!" For a while, they all sat around, laughing and joking. After a while, though, Rose stood up, and walked into the back room. Spud quietly got up and followed. He found Rose sitting on the stool; she seemed distracted by something, and maybe a little sad, too. Spud raised his eyebrows, cleared his throat, then said,

"Roses are red,

Or at least they should be.

But this Rose seems blue.

Care to talk to me?"

Rose couldn't help but smile at Spud's poem. Then she said, "Well…" she hesitated. "Remember when the four of us went into the dream realm to capture that chimera?" Spud cocked his head to one side. "Yeah…" "Well, when I lead the chimera off to distract it, I unknowingly went into my own subconcious. I-I saw the day I was born. I saw that my parents didn't die, as the Huntsman said, but that I was taken by the Huntsclan because I had this mark." she held up her right hand. Spud thought for a minute. "What are you going to do now?" he asked at last. Rose shook her head. "I don't really know," she admitted. "First thing would be to tell the others, I suppose." The two friends went back up to the front, where Rose repeated what she had told Spud. "I want to find my family," Rose concluded. "We'll help." Jake said immediately. "Not a good idea." Rose replied with an emphatic shake of her head. "The Huntsman might not be too happy if he finds out I'm trying to find my family, and I don't want to put you guys in danger." Jake stood his ground. "We're going to help." he insisted. "Look, Trixie and Spud and I once made a commitment, 'Friends for life, friends for real', and now that you're one of us, you're a part of that, too." Rose smiled. "Well," she mused. "I suppose Spud's computer-hacking skills _would_ come in handy…all right, if you guys really want to help, you can." "Great!" Jake said. "Where do we start?" "That's the hard part." Rose answered. "We have no place to start. "All I know is that I was taken from my parents and twin when I was born." "Why don't we go into your subconcious and see this for ourselves." Jake suggested. "Maybe you missed something."

"Why the video camera?" Jake asked as they headed down the dream corridor. "If I get this on tape," Spud explained. "We can watch it more than once, without having to stay in the dream realm for too long."

Spud popped the disc into the DVD player back at the shop. They all sat down to watch. As the others replayed it to see if they could catch anything, Spud hacked into the Huntsclan database to see if he could find birth records of some sort. "I found your record, Rose." he announced. "But there's nothing here about your family." "Of course not." Rose said. "They wouldn't make it that easy." "Wait." Spud said. "Hold up, I think I've got something. This site has the records of every girl born in New York that year." For the next several hours, Spud searched the records, while Jake, Rose, and Trixie watched the clip over and over. "Play it again, Trix." Jake said. "This is insane!" Trixie exclaimed. "It's almost midnight. We've been searching all afternoon and all night, and found nothing. Can't we just call it a day?" "No," Jake insisted. "We must have missed something. Play it again." Trixie sighed. " 'Proof the Huntsman is Cruel' take 656." When they still found nothing, Rose said, "It's getting late. Maybe Trixie's right. Why don't we continue this tomorrow." "You sure?" Jake asked. Rose nodded. The kids decided to spend the night at the shop, so they would all be there already the next day. Trixie and Rose stayed in the front, and Jake Spud, Lao Shi, and Fu went to the back room. The others fell asleep instantly, but Jake couldn't get to sleep. A thought tickled his brain. Something Spud had said. _This site has the records of every girl born in New York that year…every girl…every girl…_Jake sat up. "That's it!" he barely kept from shouting it.. He went up to the front. "Rose!" he whispered. "Rose!" "What is it, Jake?" Rose asked, startled awake by Jake's whispered exclamation. "I thought of something. Come with me." Jake told her. He played the DVD again, on mute this time. At one part he paused it. "Look." he said. "You never actually looked at your twin. How could you remember something you never saw? Your subconcious mind could've heard the word _twin_ and automatically assumed it was a girl. What if your twin was a boy?" Rose thought about this for a moment. "That _would _explain why Spud didn't find anything in the girls' records." she agreed. "You may have something there!" Rose hugged Jake.

"It's a strong possibility." Spud said. "I'll see what I can find." He tapped furiously at the computer. "Here," he said. "I think this is what we're looking for. There's about 5oo layers of Huntsclan incryption…." Rose sighed. "So much for that-" "…I'm in." Jake laughed at Rose's expression. "Never underestimate Spud." he said. "Here's something." Spud said. "Says here that a couple named Julia and Thomas (I made those names up) gave birth to twins on, uh, does this date look familiar?" Rose looked over Spud's shoulder. "Yeah, that's the day I was born." she confirmed. "The twins," Spud continued. "were named Adam (I made that up, too) and Rose. According to these records, the girl was taken because of a mark on her right hand. I think we've got what we're looking for!" Spud pressed a button, and a sheet printed out. He handed it to Rose. "This is the address." he told her with a grin. "So," Jake asked. "Are we going there today?" Rose smiled and shook her head. "No. Tomorrow." Jake raised an eyebrow. "Why tomorrow?" "Tomorrow is my birthday." Rose explained. "That makes it Adam's birthday, too. What would make a better birthday present?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Here we are." Jake said as they stood in front of the supposed home of Rose's family. Rose rang the doorbell. It was answered by a teenage boy. The boy's hair and eye color were the same as Rose's. He wore brown flip-flops, blue jeans that came down to right above his ankles, a green t-shirt, and a yellow rubber bracelet on his left wrist. At the moment he had a quizzical expression on his face. "Adam?" Rose asked. "Yeah," the boy replied uncertainly. "Uh, how exactly do you know this?" Rose took a gamble: She assumed that Adam knew about her. She held up her right hand, showing him her dragon birthmark. She was right; his eyes grew wide with surprise. "One second." he told her. "Mom, Dad, c'mere, now!" he shouted without completely taking his eyes off Rose. A moment later, a blonde woman and a brown-haired man were rushing up to the door. Rose slid her hand behind her back. "What is it, Adam?" the woman asked. "Yeah," the man added. "What's so important that you…" his voice trailed off as Rose once again held up her hand, revealing her mark. "Rose?" her mother asked softly. Rose nodded. A smile spread across her mother's face. "Rose," she repeated. "We thought we'd never see you again."

_So this is where my family lives. _Rose thought. _Family._ That word sounded so good to her. She was with _her_ family, people she had thought she would never know. As they all sat around the living room, Rose told them about her experiences with the Huntsclan, about the Grand Equinox hunt, about working for Team Dragon, and about going into her subconcious and seeing what really happened when she was born. "Does this mean you can live with us now?" Julia asked. Rose sighed and shook her head. "Unfortunately, not." she said. "The Huntsman doesn't know that I found out about you guys, and I don't think he'd be very happy if he knew. I have to stay with the Huntsclan." Thomas grimaced. "That guy is cruel." he muttered. "So Jake's a dragon, huh?" Adam said, changing the subject, trying to lighten the mood. "Yep," Jake said. "You, uh, don't sound very surprised." "Why would I be?" Adam said with a grin. He raised his hands in the air. Green flames appeared. He brought his arms down, and the green flames engulfed him. When the fire disappeared, there, where the human boy had once been, now stood a dragon. He was blue, with a green stomach and green spikes on his head and back. "You're a dragon too?" Jake said in wonder. "Yo, doesn't that make you and your sister mortal enemies?" he asked, gesturing torwards Rose. Adam laughed. "Yeah, pretty weird, I suppose." he frowned. "Of course, my powers are pretty much useless, since I never had anyone to train me. I've learned a lot, though, just by studying and talking to other magical creatures." he dragoned down. "Check this." he said. He pressed his palms together, closed his eyes, and in a few seconds, a second Adam was standing parallel to the first. "Doppleganger." "Yeah, I recently learned about that power, too." Jake commented. Adam absorbed his copy, then sat back down. They all talked for a few hours more, then Rose sighed and reluctantly stood up. "We need to go now." she told them. "The Huntsman will get suspicious if I'm out too late." Julia hugged her daughter. "Just remember that you're always welcome here." she said. "Thanks, Mom." Rose replied. "I will."


	3. Chapter 3

After three months, things were growing tense. Rose couldn't be with her family very much, or with Jake, aside from their dream dates. Soon it was summer vacation. One day, Jake, Rose, Trixie, and Spud were at the shop, sitting around, with nothing to do.

"Man, I am bored." Jake said.

"Yeah," Rose agreed.

"Totally," Trixe added.

"Super bored." Spud chimed in.

At that moment Gramps came in from the back room. "What!?" he exclaimed. "All semester you four have been saying how much you wanted summer vacation to be here, and now you're bored!?" He motioned all of them out the door. Jake grabbed a frisbee as they went by. The kids went to Central Park, and to be a good sport, Gramps went with them.

"Aaawww man!" Jake jumped in the air, but narrowly missed the frisbee. His height annoyed him. He thought for a minute, grinned, and dragoned up. When Spud tossed the frisbee, Jake flew up and caught it. At one point though, Jake tossed the flying disc too high, and it got caught in the wind currents, which carried it up to the top of a building. "I'll get it." Jake called down to his friends. As he flew, though, the wind changed direction, so now he was flying _against _the wind. He gave up and turned back. As he touched down, he said, "There goes that idea." "Uh, Jake," Rose pointed out. "Why not just take the elevator?" she pointed torwards an elevator on the side of the building. "Works for me." Jake agreed, slightly embarrassed that he hadn't noticed it before. As the group rode up in the elevator, Jake, for some odd reason, did not dragon down. At the top, the door opened, and there, standing before them, was the Huntsman. In one hand was the frisbee, in the other was his Huntsstaff. "So, Huntsgirl." he said, sounding rather disappointed, and slightly angry. "You _are_ with the dragon." Rose took a step back. There was no way she could talk her way out of this one. He had obviously been watching from the rooftop, and seen her with Jake. Suddenly, Huntsclan members came up on all sides of the roof. The good guys were trapped. The Huntsman stepped forward. "It's a pity that I arrived too late to see the dragon's human form, but now I at least know that you have indeed betrayed us. You have chosen a treacherous path, Huntsgirl, and if you will not slay the dragon, I will." With that, he aimed his staff at Jake, who was looking around at the surrounding Huntsclan. The Huntsman fired. Even if Jake had seen it then he wouldn't have had time to avoid it, so Rose did the only thing she could think of to save him. She dived torwards him, knocking him out of the way. The bolt struck her instead. The energy bolt knocked her back, sent her skidding across the rooftop until she came to a stop a few feet away.

_Meanwhile…_

Adam's stomach rumbled. He put his book down, and headed into the kitchen for a snack. suddenly he stopped, and pressed a hand to his left side, an expression of pain on his face. "Adam, what's wrong?" Julia asked worriedly. Adam bolted for the telephone.

Jake turned torwards the Huntsman, anger in his eyes. He charged the hunter, and with the element of surprise, pushed him from the top of the building. Too distracted to even watch him fall, Jake rushed back to the now unconcious Rose. He knelt down beside her. "Rose." He said sadly. "She is unconcious, but she will be okay." Gramps assured his young student. "But we must return to the shop." Jake lifted Rose into his arms, and Fu Dog hopped on Jake's shoulders. Trixie and Spud got on Gramps's back, and the group headed back torwards the shop. As they flew. Fu Dog's cell phone rang. He reached inside his wrinkles, and withdrew the phone. He pressed the 'talk' button. "Hello?" "Let me talk to Jake." Adam's voice came over the phone firmly. Fu pressed the phone to Jake's ear. "What happened?" Adam asked, fear lacing his voice. "Well, Rose is hurt-" Jake began. "-I know that. I asked what happened." Adam interrupted, starting to sound frantic. "Well…" Jake replied. "wait, _how_ did you know?" At this point, Adam was officially frantic. "It's that freaky twin psychic thing, now answer the question!" "We, uh, kinda met up with the Huntsman." Jake said. "He wasn't too happy to see Rose hangin' with a dragon. He tried to slay me, Rose jumped in the way, and the shot hit her-" "-In the left side." Adam finished. "I'm not gonna ask how you knew that." Jake said. "We're heading to the shop right now." "We'll be there." Adam told him, then hung up.

"When they arrived at the shop, Jake laid Rose on the couch. For an hour, they waited. Jake and Adam both paced the floor, pacing, sitting down, standing up, pacing, sitting down. Finally Trixie stood up. "I'm tired of waiting," she said. "C'mon, let's go to the skate park!" Upon seeing the hurt expression on Jake's face, her face softened. "It'll help pass the time." She added in a softer voice. "Thanks, Trixie," Jake replied. "But I wanna be here when Rose wakes up." "I-I think I'll go with Trixie and Spud." Adam spoke up. "I'm really worried, and I need to get my mind on something else for a while." he explained. He left with Trixie and Spud. Another hour passed. At last, Rose's eyes blinked open. "Rose," Jake said. "Jake, the Huntsman knows about us. That puts you in danger." Rose said immediately. _Typical Rose, _Jake thought with a small smile. _Putting others first. _"No," he told her. "The Huntsman is dead." Rose raised an eyebrow. "You sure?" "He fell from a ten story building," Jake reasoned. "Even _he_ couldn't survive that." Rose started to sit up, winced at the pain from the wound, and lay back again. "Take it easy, Rose." Jake said. "you're hurt, remember?" Rose smiled at Jake's genuine concern. "I'm okay, Jake." she assured him. "Just tired." "Rest now." Gramps said. "Much has happened today." Rose closed her eyes, and in a few minutes, had fallen asleep.

Afternoon wore into evening, and as the sun set on New York City, Trixie, Spud, and Adam returned to the shop. "So how's Rose doing?" Trixie asked, trying to sound casual, but Jake's keen ears picked up a note of concern. "Yeah, is she okay?" Spud added. Adam said nothing. He didn't have to. His expression said it all. "She's fine." Jake assured them. "She regained conciousness a few hours ago." Gramps said. "She is asleep now." Trixie addressed Jake, Spud, and Adam, "Let's go to the back and play some video games." Adam and Spud headed to the back. Jake said, "Nah, I'll pass." Trixie stopped, took a few steps back so that she was directly across from Jake. "What?" she said. "C'mon Jakey, you ain't left Rose since she was hurt." "She was hurt saving my life." Jake said dejectedly. "The least I could do is stay with her." "Alright, if you're sure." Trixie replied. She headed to the back room.

For a few minutes, there was silence. Jake seemed lost in his own thoughts. In fact it seemed to Lao Shi that Jake was worried about something. Rose woke up a few minutes later. She, too, noticed this. Lao Shi spoke first. "Something troubles you, young dragon?" he asked Jake. "Yeah, Jake," Rose added. "Is something wrong?" "I don't know." Jake answered. "I mean, things turned out…okay, but I still have this strange feeling, like something's wrong." "As dragons we must always be on guard." Lao Shi told his grandson. "But, do not worry about it too much."

The night sky had grown dark, as well as the city below. There, on the sidewalk, bathed in the glow of a streetlamp, lay a pile of boxes. Suddenly the boxes seemed to shudder. A large, muscular arm emerged from the pile, the hand clenched in a tight fist.

_**Muahahahaha. Cliffhanger! Next chapter soon.**_


	4. Chapter 4

Two weeks had passed. One afternoon, Jake, Rose, Trixie, and Spud walked into the shop, laughing, most likely at something Spud had said. Fu was at the laptop, and he turned his head when the kids came in. "Uh, I hate to ruin your day, guys, but we got some trouble." "What? Where?" Jake instinctively went into a fighting stance. "Well, according to my sources, the Huntsman may still be alive." Fu dog replied. "Say what!?" Jake exclaimed. "That's impossible, he fell from that building. I should know…I'm the one who pushed him!" Rose considered this for a moment, then asked. "Uh, Jake, did you actually see him land?" "No," Jake replied. "I-I was too distracted." "Then Fu is probably right." Rose said grimly. "Huntsclan members are trained with nearly unlimited agility," Rose executed a difficult backward somersault almost effortlessly to demonstrate her point. "The Huntsman could have done anything to break that fall." "That dude just won't die!" Jake said in exasperation. "There's more." Fu said. "the Huntsman's been seen in Central Park. We think he's after the unicorns." "I'm on it!" Jake replied. He dragoned up, and started to head out the door. When Rose followed, Jake stopped. "You shouldn't come." he stated. "It's too dangerous." "The Huntsman already knows I'm working with you," Rose countered. "And if he wanted to kill me, he would have done so when he first found out." "I guess you're right." Jake said.

When they arrived in Central Park, they saw the Huntsman, and 88 and 89, but no unicorns. Before he knew what happened, a net fell on him from above. It was sphinx hair. It had been a trap. Jake unwillingly reverted to his human form. The Huntsman casually strode over, pulled the net away, and lifted Jake into the air by his shirt collar. "So, you're the American Dragon." he said menacingly. He lifted his spear to slay Jake, but his eyes happened to glance over at Rose, whose eyes shone with terror. What the Huntsman did next surprised everyone: he dropped Jake, turned, and walked back to 88 and 89. "Huntsgirl, 88, 89," he said. "Come, we are leaving the city." "Where to?" 88 asked. "Florida." the Huntsman replied. "You can't make me go!" Rose pointed out. "I know where my family is. I can live with them." "No, you're wrong about that." the Huntsman said confidently. "You see,_ I_ have custody of you, and only _I_ can relinquish that custody to someone else. Even your parents. Now do as I say." Rose looked longingly at her friends. The Huntsman saw this. "You may say goodbye first." he told her. Rose walked over to her friends, the only friends she'd ever had. She hugged each of them in turn. After she hugged Spud, he said, "I made something for you." He reached into his pocket and withdrew a wooden staue: A monkey riding a unicycle. Rose laughed in spite of herself. "Thanks, Spud." Rose then hugged Trixie. When they pulled away, Trixie said. "Listen, Rose, I'm sorry, about before. I never trusted you. No matter what you did for Team Dragon, it was never enough, not to me. I was always afraid you'd turn on us. But I was wrong. You're willing to risk your life for Jake. If that scar doesn't prove it-" she gestured torwards Rose's side, where there was still a faint scar from the shot Rose had taken for Jake. "-then I don't know what does." "It's alright, Trixie." Rose replied. "Spud explained to me how things work: You've always treated Jake like a little brother, protecting him, looking out for him. You just didn't want to see him hurt, physically or emotionally." Next, Rose hugged Jake. Their embrace lasted longer, there was more there than just friendship. "I guess the Huntsman's not all bad." Jake reasoned. "After all, he let me live, for your sake. Here." Jake pressed something into Rose's hands. She looked down. It was the picture of them at the dance. "You gave it to me last time you left," Jake told her "You take it this time." Tears entered Rose's eyes. "Goodbye, Jake." she said. She turned and walked over to the Huntsman. He held up his staff. A green orb surrounded him, along with Rose, 88, and 89. When it vanished, so had they. They were all the way at the bottom of the country now. And Jake knew he might never see Rose again…


	5. Chapter 5

"Yeah, we in Florida! Beaches and pretty girls galore!" 88 certainly seemed happy to be here. 89, too. The two Huntsboys didn't even unpack. They just grabbed their swim trunks and headed torwards the beach. Rose, however, stayed in her quarters. They had teleported to a Huntsclan base down in Miami. It was a nice place, but Rose could care less. All she wanted was to go back to New York, to her friends and family. _And Jake._ Rose couldn't stand the thought of being away from Jake. She sat cross-legged on the bed, staring at the picture of the two of them at the dance. They had been through so much together. They'd already been torn apart once, and now it had happened again. Rose sighed. She set the picture on the nightstand, and stood up. She decided to go out on the beach. Maybe she could think better there.

No such luck. No one could think better with 88 and 89 around. "C'mon, Rose, this place is great!" 89 exclaimed. "What's so important about that dragon anyway?" Rose did not reply, but kept walking. "He's just a dragon, you're not even supposed to _like_ dragons, much less love one." "Yo, man leave her alone." 88 spoke up. "C'mon dude, let's go." The two boys left, and Rose walked a little farther down the beach. At last she sat down in the cool sand. She stared off at the sunset, the waves, the seagulls, but all she could think of was Jake.

The Huntsman watched Rose from his vantage point. He didn't get it. Rose, a huntsclan member, loved a dragon? It was unheard of! But as he watched his former apprentice, saw the air of sadness about her, he saw that she definitely cared for this dragon. That was why he hadn't slain it. He shook his head. He saw Rose stand up, and head inside. A moment later, she emerged on the balcony. He decided that maybe he should go talk to her.

Rose looked out over the balcony. She pictured Jake flying over the city, a cocky grin on his face. Oh, how she missed him! She couldn't begin to describe it. She thought of a song she had once heard. The song was actually talking about something else, but the chorus fit with how she felt right now. She softly sang the words.

I close my eyes 

_And I see your face_

_If home's where my heart is_

_Then I'm out of place_

_Oh, won't you give me strength_

_To make it through somehow_

_I've never been more homesick than now_

"She really misses him." The Huntsman muttered. "What am I saying!? This dragon is our mortal enemy. Perhaps I _should_ have slain him." No matter, he decided. They were far away from the dragon now, they had a new life. Rose would come around soon. 


	6. Chapter 6

Or not. After three weeks, things still hadn't changed. Rose hadn't spoken to them since they came here. Tonight, as the Huntsman walked down the hall torwards his room, he noticed the door to Rose's quarters open slightly. He stopped, and looked inside. Rose was asleep, the photo of her and Jake clutched tightly to her chest. The Huntsman's first impulse was to go in, snatch the photo, and destroy it, but something stopped him. An old memory came up, and he began to understand.

The next day, Rose, as usual, spoke to no one. As evening set, the huntsman saw that she had again gone out to sit on the beach. This time, though, he walked over, and sat down beside her. She said nothing, and made no move to acknowledge him. "Beautiful night." he commented. No response. "I remember," he said. "when you were six years old, you went to a summer camp with your school." Rose flashed him a questioning look. He continued, "When you came back, you told me that, at times during the week you were gone, you sometimes got homesick. But you said that anytime that happened, you would look at the moon, and knowing that I and your friends could see it too, made you feel better. I remember being amazed at the wisdom from one so young. I suppose that you're thinking of the dragon right now?" he asked following her gaze to the rising moon. Rose nodded. Without a word, the Huntsman stood up and walked away.

"Yo, dude, what is it?" 88 asked, noticing the thoughtful look in the Huntsman's eyes. "Pack your things." he told 88 and 89, seeing that Rose was walking torwards them. "We're going back to New York." Rose's face lit up upon hearing this. She took off to get her things from her quarters. The Huntsman had no idea why he was doing this, but he knew he was doing right. Apparently, 88 and 89 didn't agree. "What!" they exclaimed. "Why?" "Florida's awesome!" "That's not fair!" their sentences ran together. "Just go get packed." the Huntsman repeated. He knew what he was going to do…


	7. Chapter 7

The stars and moon shone brightly over New York City, and on top of the Empire State Building, a dragon looked down on the city below. His red scales reflected in the moonlight, and his eyes reflected what seemed like an inner light that came from the memories of the girl he knew was out there. Jake sighed. Everything had happened so fast, and now Rose was gone, taken from him as she had been once before. A tear rolled down his face. He truly loved Rose, and he knew the feeling was mutual. But there love was forbidden, much like Antony and Cleopatra. The irony of that struck him for the first time. He had portayed Antony in the school play, and Rose had played his mortal enemy, the beautiful Cleopatra. Now, Jake realized, they were living that play for real. How he wished it could have a happy ending.

"The last thing I want to see on a beautiful night like this is a sad dragon." Jake's ears lifted when he heard her. He turned his head slowly, hoping that this wasn't an illusion. No, it was real, Rose was standing a few feet away, a smile on her face. "Rose!" Jake exclaimed. He ran torwards her, catching her in his embrace. He looked into her eyes. "But…how?" he asked. "The Huntsman…Florida…" Rose laughed. "Don't ask me." she replied. "The Huntsman decided that we would come back. He's making some grand announcement to the Huntsclan tomorrrow." she added. "I'm not sure what it's about, but I think you should come, watch from a distance." "Okay, sure." Jake agreed.

The next day, Jake perched in an oak tree in Central Park, listening to the Huntsman's 'grand announcement'. "I brought you all here." the Huntsman said. "to issue this rule: no one is to slay or attemt to slay the American Dragon." This brought a collective gasp from the group. "Why, you may ask?" the Huntsman continued. "Huntsgi—Rose is in love with the American Dragon. She's always had more common sense than me, anyway." "But what about our missions?" shouted one young member. "Suppose the American Dragon shows up to stop us. Should we just give in and leave?" "No," the Huntsman replied. "When fighting him, set your staffs to stun. Also," he added. "No one is to harm Rose, either. Some of you may consider her a traitor, but I will not stand to se her harmed." _Wow._ Jake thought._ he really cares about her._

Later, Jake met up with Rose. "Did that really happen?" he asked. "Or am I imagining things?" Rose smiled. "It happened." she said. "And now things are going to be just fine."


	8. Chapter 8

A few miles outside Manhattan lay a cave in the mountains. It was normally silent, but today, voices came from inside. A young Huntsboy, 17-year-old Rebik, talked with his friends, 15 and 16-year-old trainees that he had befriended, taken upon himself to teach. "it's not fair!" he interjected. "How can the huntsman do this? Deny us the right to slay the dragon, and on top of that, allow the traitor to go free!" "What should we do about it?" asked one of the trainees. "Let me handle that." Rebik answered. "I know exactly how to deal with that traitor."

Hahahahahahahahaahahaha! Cliffhanger! Looks like Arkansan Dragon isn't the only one who can do that. This, of course, is the end of this story. Things will pick up in 'The Summer They'll Never Forget', the last story in my nightmare trilogy. Until then, see ya! 


End file.
